2Sa 2 | AB | STEP | And it came to pass after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And He said, To Hebron.

2 Samuel 2

1 And it came to pass after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And He said, To Hebron. 2 And David went up there to Hebron, he and both his wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite, 3 and the men that were with him, everyone and his family; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. 4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David to reign over the house of Judah; and they reported to David, saying, The men of Jabesh of the country of Gilead have buried Saul. 5 And David sent messengers to the rulers of Jabesh of the country of Gilead, and David said to them, Blessed are you of the Lord, because you have shown this mercy toward your lord, even toward Saul the anointed of the Lord, and you have buried him and Jonathan his son. 6 And now may the Lord deal in mercy and truth towards you: and I also will repay towards you this good deed, because you have done this. 7 And now let your hands be made strong, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and moreover the house of Judah has anointed me to be king over them. 8 But Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him up from the camp to Mahanaim; 9 and made him king over the land of Gilead, and over Thasiri, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth, Saul's son was forty years old when he reigned over Israel; and he reigned two years, but not over the house of Judah, who followed David. 11 And the days which David reigned in Hebron over the house of Judah were seven years and six months. 12 And Abner the son of Ner went forth, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, from Manahaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went forth from Hebron, and met them at the Fountain of Gibeon, at the same place: and these sat down by the fountain on this side, and those by the fountain on that side. 14 And Abner said to Joab, Let now the young men arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. 15 And there arose and passed over by number twelve of the children of Benjamin, belonging to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each one grasped the head of his neighbor with his hand, and his sword was thrust into the side of his neighbor, and they fell down together: and the name of that place was called The Portion of the Treacherous Ones, which is in Gibeon. 17 And the battle was very severe in that day; and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. 18 Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was swift in his feet as a wild gazelle in the field. 19 And Asahel followed after Abner, and turned not to go to the right hand or to the left from following Abner. 20 And Abner looked behind him, and said, Are you Asahel? And he said, I am. 21 And Abner said to him, Turn to the right or to the left, and lay hold for yourself on one of the young men, and take to yourself his armor; but Asahel would not turn back from following him. 22 And Abner said yet again to Asahel, Stand away from me, lest I strike you to the ground! And how should I lift up my face to Joab? 23 And what does this mean? Return to Joab your brother? But he would not stand away; and Abner struck him with the blunt end of the spear on his loins, and the spear went out behind him, and he fell down there and died on the spot. And it came to pass that everyone that came to the place where Asahel fell and died, stood still. 24 And Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun went down. And they went as far as the hill of Ammah, which is in the front of Giah, by the desert way of Gibeon. 25 And the children of Benjamin who followed Abner gathered themselves together, and they formed themselves into one body, and stood on the top of a hill. 26 And Abner called Joab and said, Shall the sword devour perpetually? Know you not that it will be bitter in the end? How long then will you refuse to tell the people to turn from following our brethren? 27 And Joab said, As the Lord lives, if you had not spoken, even from the morning the people had each gone up from following his brother. 28 And Joab sounded the trumpet, and all the people departed, and did not pursue after Israel, and did not fight any longer. 29 And Abner and his men departed at evening, and went all that night, and crossed over the Jordan, and went along the whole adjacent country, and they came to the camp. 30 And Joab returned from following Abner, and he assembled all the people, and there were missing of the people of David, nineteen men, and Asahel. 31 And the servants of David struck of the children of Benjamin, of the men of Abner, three hundred and sixty men belonging to him. 32 And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the tomb of his father in Bethlehem. And Joab and the men with him went all the night, and the morning rose upon them in Hebron.